We are proud to present the full programme for Imagine Fantastic Film Festival 2025. One more month to go! For our 41st edition, from 30 October to 9 November, screens at the FilmHallen, LAB111 and Hal West in Amsterdam-West will once again be filled with the best and latest in genre cinema and immersive media. This year features three themed programmes, 66 features, 53 shorts, 9 VR experiences, plus specials, talks, comics and more.
Ticket sales start on 7 October. Go ahead and pen down your favourites in the schedule, from brand-new premieres to cult classics. And keep reading for a sneak peak!
Fantastic Opener: Retreat
This year’s opening film on Thursday 30 October is Retreat, the world’s first-ever thriller filmed entirely in Sign Language. Retreat follows Eva, who joins an isolated but secretive community for Deaf people, where Sign Language is the norm. With British Sign Language (BSL) as its primary narrative form and using minimal sound effects, director Ted Evansc — who is Deaf himself — has created an intense thriller that forces you to watch – and listen – in a totally new way.
Guest of Honour Ben Wheatley and more guests
We are incredibly proud to announce that we will be welcoming legendary British maverick director Ben Wheatley as our Guest of Honour this year! Wheatley is known for his distinctive, often darkly comedic films such as Kill List, A Field in England (both of which will also be screened at the festival), High-Rise and Rebecca. He will be attending Imagine with his latest film, Bulk, alongside his long-time producer Andy Starke. On Saturday 1 November, Wheatley will receive the Imagine Career Award during a dedicated Career Talk, where he will discuss his work and inspirations with moderator Hedwig van Driel. The following day, Wheatley will present one of his all-time personal favourites: Shinya Tsukamoto’s Tetsuo: The Iron Man.
Naturally, more Dutch and international filmmakers will be visiting. Several guests will be joining us for Q&As, including the Adams family (Mother of Flies), Taratoa Stappard (Mãrama), Annapurna Siriam (Fucktoys), Lauris and Raitis Ābele (Dog of God) and Hugo Keijzer (The Occupant). We also have collaborations scheduled with partners such as Cinema Literair, Straight to Video, InScience, Schokkend Nieuws, VERS and 48h Film Project.
New releases and classics
A small rundown of Imagine 2025’s impressive lineup. Alongside Wheatley’s Bulk, Dutch sci-fi film The Occupant will also be premiering at the festival. Looking into the past, we’re showing anime classic Angel’s Egg (1985, now in 4K) in collaboration with Kaboom Animation Festival, and sleazy cult classic Night of the Juggler (1980) with KINO Rotterdam. The programme also includes the first film by Julie Pacino, Al’s daughter (I Live Here Now), Quentin Dupieux’s latest (The Piano Accident), and new film by directing duo Cattet and Forzani (Reflection in a Dead Diamond). Of course, there’s more: fantastic animation (Dog of God, Another World, The Girl Who Stole Time), horror (Dollhouse, The Virgin of the Quarry Lake), science fiction (Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie, Redux Redux). Hell, we’ve even got a nostalgic documentary, Boorman and the Devil. And that’s just a fraction of the whole shebang! Don’t forget our Halloween Karaoke Party and the comics exhibition in the basement of LAB111!
Fantastic themes
Let’s take a deep dive. This year, we’ve got three themed programmes lined up for you. In A Tentacular Touch, we’ll be delving into the legacy of H.P. Lovecraft with a programme packed with creatures and worlds that defy imagination. Go beyond madness with films like Urotsukidoji, The Thing, In the Mouth of Madness, Man Finds Tape, The Alien Factor, and many more. Also part of this tentacled spectacle: a live film concert of The Call of Cthulhu and a workshop that lets you build your very own slimy beast.
The programme Reversing the Gaze: Indigenous Cinema puts filmmakers from Indigenous communities front and center, featuring talents like Tracy Moffat (BeDevil) and Zacharias Kunuk (Wrong Husband). The special event Sranan Tales will host a panel where three young filmmakers discuss their Surinamese stories with moderator Sherlien Sanches. Meanwhile, Horror in the Andes looks at how autodidactic Indigenous filmmakers from Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia use cameras to visualise their own narratives.
Last, but certainly not least…get ready for the ultimate crossing with our Rites of Passage programme, this year’s immersive Imagine Expanded focus. At our brand-new location Hal West, our freshly trained VR hosts will be waiting to guide you to nine groundbreaking interactive experience, from a dreamy first date to digital chambers filled with desire. Leave your Self behind! Extra special: interactive multi-player cinema experience The Run, which lets you decide the protagonist’s fate, and She-Wolf, a Polish cult classic reimagined with a new, irreverent audio description. Book your spots from 7 October onward!
